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Theft of Swords
"THEY KILLED THE KING. THEY PINNED IT ON TWO MEN. THEY CHOSE POORLY." Theft of Swords is the first omnibus of the Riyria Revelations, encompassing Michael J. Sullivan's previously published novels The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha. Synopsis There's no ancient evil to defeat or orphan destined for greatness, just unlikely heroes and classic adventure. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, are two enterprising rogues who end up running for their lives when they're framed for the murder of the king. Trapped in a conspiracy that goes beyond the overthrow of a tiny kingdom, their only hope is unraveling an ancient mystery before it's too late.Goodreads,17 Dec 2020 Plot Summary After a successful raid, Royce and Hadrian (together known as Riyria) are approached by a man offering much gold to steal a sword owned by Count Pickering, from the royal palace in Medford, the capital of the kingdom of Melengar. While searching for the sword they discover the dead body of the King, and are accused of his murder. Arista, Princess of Melengar, saves them from execution. In return, they kidnap her brother, Alric, because she thinks he will also be killed. Following Arista's instructions, Riyria and Alric make their way to the prison where the wizard Esrahaddon is being held. On the way, they are ambushed on a river and come across a burned monastery, whose only survivor, Myron, joins the group. While the group travels to the prison, Arista grows suspicious of her uncle Percy Braga. She uses magic taught to her by Esrahaddon to confirm that Braga had a hand in her father's death. Braga accuses her of witchcraft and has her imprisoned for murdering her father. At the prison, Alric frees Esrahaddon, who reveals that he was falsely imprisoned for murdering the emperor and destroying the empire nearly a thousand years ago. After giving the group some advice on what to do next, Esrahaddon leaves to pursue something he started before he was imprisoned. While eating and planning their next move at a local inn a group of soldiers arrive and make trouble for the owner and patrons. Alric steps in to intervene and proves his identity as the prince and future king. The group decides to go their separate ways now that Alric is with his soldiers and Riyria has completed their job. After Alric leaves, Royce and Hadrian deduce that Alric is with a group of mercenaries, most likely employed by whoever murdered his father. After killing the mercenaries (whom Myron recognizes as the men who burned down the abbey), the group then attempts to return to Medford, but soon realize that Braga has seized power there. Braga discusses with his co-conspirator, who is revealed to be Bishop Saldur. Saldur explains that since the fall of the old empire, a thousand years ago, the church has been working to place their agents in positions of power in every kingdom in order to establish a new empire. With Alric's presumed death and Arista scheduled for execution, Braga is poised to become king and potentially emperor. Alric goes to Drondil Fields, where he enlists the Pickerings (loyal family friends) to help raise an army to defeat Percy. There the group meet Count Pickering and his sons Fanen and Mauvin, who were unaware of the king's death. When Hadrian and Mauvin spar it is revealed that Hadrian knows the ancient and forgotten Teshlor fighting style that made knights of the old empire unstoppable. Riyria infiltrates the city and asks Royce's lover, Gwen DeLancy, to incite a riot to distract the guards from the army marches toward Medford. While Royce saves Arista from her tower that was rigged to collapse, Hadrian holds Braga at bay. When Alric sees his troops begin to die for him he charges ahead and demands to be let in. The commoners who have taken the gate, open it to let the army through. Count Pickering duels Braga and decapitates him. Although the coup is stopped, no one is aware of Saldur's involvement and he crowns Alric king. Myron is given the materials to rebuild the abbey, which will be an exact replica due to his photographic memory. Sometime later Riyria places Braga's head on the lap of a sleeping conspirator as a warning to the enemies of Melengar. Characters Major Characters *Royce Melborn *Hadrian Blackwater *Arista Essendon *Myron *Esrahaddon *Alric Essendon *Percy Braga *Maurice Saldur Minor Characters *Delano DeWitt *Count Pickering *Gwen DeLancy *Mauvin Pickering *Fanen Pickering *Magnus Quotes "Will nodded toward Hadrian. “Look at the swords he’s carrying. A man wearing one—maybe he knows how to use it, maybe not. A man carries two—he probably don’t know nothing about swords, but he wants you to think he does. But a man carrying three swords—that’s a lot of weight. No one’s gonna haul that much steel around unless he makes a living using them." Reception reception for the book has been positive,with the Library Journal giving Theft of Swords praise and making it one of their 2011 Best Books for Fantasy/Sci-Fi. However a negative review from Strange Horizons says the book "isn't, quite, the absolute worst book I've ever read". Category:Source Material Category:Riyria Revelations